A gas tank container is an intermodal container for transporting liquids and/or gases. A standard gas tank container has a manhole and at least one connector. Loading and unloading takes place by connecting hoses from the loading and unloading installation to connectors of the gas tank container, following which loading or unloading can be effected. A connector is part of a valve, also referred to as an outlet valve, which can, if necessary, interrupt the supply or discharge of liquids and/or gases. In accordance with legal requirements, the connections are made by means of a composite valve.
Documents U.S. Pat. No. 7,322,227B2 and CA2765684A1 relate to examples of a prior art tank container.
The known intermodal gas tank containers suffer from the problem that the volume is limited by the dimensions of the frame around the container and by the space which the outlet valve takes up on the container and which has to stay inside (the casing of) the ISO frame.
A gas tank container is usually provided with a loading and unloading connection and a vapor-return connection. Tank connections have to satisfy the international requirements regarding the various transportation modes. This means that they have to contain a threefold serial safeguard: an inner valve which is protected against external damage, a second valve (e.g. ball valve) in line therewith and finally a seal, for example, in the form of a blind flange. This threefold protection is intended to prevent leaks and unintentional opening of connections. Depending on the infrastructure, gas tanks are operated either at the rear or at the side. In both cases, the available space is limited. The various suppliers offer compact threefold tank connections which satisfy the abovementioned requirements. Despite their compact construction, the length of these tank connections forms a limitation with regard to the tank volume which is possible within the ISO dimensions of the containers in the case of rear connections.
It is an object of the present invention to improve the design of a gas tank container to offer a solution to at least one of the aforementioned drawbacks when transporting gases, as described in claim 1.